The RNID Scotland found only a fifth of venues surveyed provided induction loops for audiences.
The RNID Scotland found only a fifth of venues surveyed provided induction loops for audiences. The equipment, which amplifies speech over background noise, is essential to help hearing-aid users access information about the shows and fully enjoy the performances. The charity is now calling on the Edinburgh Fringe organisers to improve provision for deaf and hard-of-hearing people before next year’s events. Director of RNID Scotland, Delia Henry, said: “The Edinburgh Festival is a wonderful event that should be enjoyed by as many people as possible. We think that the organisers and festival customers will be disappointed to learn that there are barriers to accessing shows because induction loops are not available at the box offices and at 76% of the venues we surveyed. “We’re hoping to work with organisers and individual venues to make sure that hearing aid users have a better experience next year.” According to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), service providers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to allow access to disabled people. It means that shows who do not provide facilities for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing could potentially leave themselves open to legal action. James Murray, a hearing aid user from Edinburgh, said: “It’s frustrating that so many of the box offices and venues didn’t have induction loops because it means we have less opportunities to get information about the many shows which interest us and we don’t have the chance to enjoy the performances as much as we could.
“Shows are often performed in loud environments with music and noise from the audience, which make it difficult to follow what the performer is saying if no induction loop is being used. They’re easy to install and operate so it’s a shame that more shows aren’t accessible to enable everyone to join in the fun!”